And it cometh to pass, after the death of Joshua, that the sons of Israel ask at Jehovah, saying, 'Who doth go up for us unto the Canaanite, at the commencement, to fight against it?'

And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

They attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba) and fought Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

The army of Judah then proceeded to attack the inhabitants of Debir, which used to be known as Kiriath-sepher.

And Caleb said, "He who attacks Kir'iath-se'pher and takes it, I will give him Achsah my daughter as wife."

And Oth'ni-el the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.

And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?

The army of Judah accompanied the army of Simeon, Judah's brother, as they attacked the Canaanites who were living in Zephath, and they completely destroyed it. Then they renamed the city Hormah.

Judah also took Gaza with its territory, and Ash'kelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.

And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.

When Israel became stronger, they made the Canaanites serve as forced labor but never drove them out completely.

Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron or the residents of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced labor.

Naphtali did not drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh or the residents of Beth-anath. They lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, but the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served as their forced labor.

The Amorites refused to leave Har-heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. When the house of Joseph got the upper hand, the Amorites were made to serve as forced labor.

And [as for] you, do not {make a covenant} with the inhabitants of this land; break down their altars.' But you did not listen to my voice. {Why would you do such a thing}?

Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

And as the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the {Israelites}, the people {wept bitterly}.

The people served the LORD during the entire lifetime of Joshua as well as the lifetimes of all the elders who outlived Joshua and who had observed all the great deeds that the LORD had done for Israel.

And they buried him within the bounds of his inheritance in Tim'nath-he'res, in the hill country of E'phraim, north of the mountain of Ga'ash.

They forsook the LORD, and served the Ba'als and the Ash'taroth.

Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

Then the Lord gave them judges, as their saviours from the hands of those who were cruel to them.

But they did not listen to their leaders, but lusted after other gods and bowed down to them. They turned away quickly from the way that their ancestors went, who had obeyed the commandment of Yahweh; they did not do [as their ancestors].

As a result, whenever the LORD raised up leaders for them, the LORD remained present with their leader, delivering Israel from the control of their enemies during the lifetime of that leader. The LORD was moved with compassion by their groaning that had been caused by those who were oppressing and persecuting them.

Yet for all that, as soon as the judge was dead they turned and did worse than their fathers in following strange gods, and in serving them, and ceased not from their inventions nor from their malicious ways.

So then the anger of Yahweh kindled upon Israel, and he said - Forasmuch as this nation have transgressed my covenant, which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice,

That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.

And Jehovah leaveth these nations, so as not to dispossess them hastily, and did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;

These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sido'nians, and the Hivites who dwelt on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Ba'al-her'mon as far as the entrance of Hamath.

And as the children of Israel dwelt among the Cananites, Hittites, Amorites, Perezites, Hivites, and Jebusites,

And they took their daughters as wives for themselves, and they gave their daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.

The Israelites cried out to the Lord. So the Lord raised up Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother, as a deliverer to save the Israelites.

As a result, the land was quiet for 40 years. Then Kenaz' son Othniel died.

Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjaminite, as a deliverer for them. The Israelites sent him to Eglon king of Moab with tribute money.

and brought the present unto Eglon the king of the Moabites. As for Eglon, he was a very fat man.

As he finished presenting the tribute, Ehud sent away the people who had been carrying it.

But Ehud himself turned back from the sculptured stones at Gilgal, [and he returned to Eglon] and said [to him], “I have a secret message for you, O king.” Eglon said “Keep silence.” And all who attended him left him.

And Ehud came to him, as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you." And he arose from his seat.

As Ehud went out into the vestibule, he closed the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

As a result, Moab was subdued under the control of Israel, and the land remained quiet for 80 years.

And the {Israelites} cried to Yahweh, as he [had] nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the {Israelites} {cruelly} for twenty years.

Barak summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. Ten thousand men followed him; Deborah went up with him as well.

Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab the brother-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is by Kedesh.

So Sisera got together all his war-carriages, nine hundred war-carriages of iron, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles as far as the river Kishon.

But Barak pursued after the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all of Sisera's army fell to {the edge of the sword}; no one was left.

And he said unto her, Stand at the entrance of the tent, - and it shall be, if any man come and ask thee and say - Is there here a man? that thou shalt say, There is not.

But Ja'el the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, till it went down into the ground, as he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.

And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

Listen, you kings! Turn your ears to me, you rulers! As for me, to the LORD I will sing! I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.

The peasantry ceased in Israel, they ceased until you arose, Deb'orah, arose as a mother in Israel.

Then the survivors came down to the mighty ones; the Lord's people came down to me as warriors.

Out of Ephraim, came down they whose root was in Amalek, After thee, Benjamin, among thy tribes, - Out of Machir, had come down governors, And, out of Zebulun, such as bear aloft the staff of the marshal;

And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As was Issachar, so was Barak; Into the valley they rushed forth at his feet. By the watercourses of Reuben There were great resolves of heart.

Why do you remain among the sheepfolds, listening to the shepherds playing their pipes for their flocks? As for the clans of Reuben -- there was intense searching of heart.

Gilead has remained beyond the Jordan. Why did Dan dwell as a foreigner [with] ships? Asher sat at [the] coast of [the] waters, and by his coves he has been settling down.

"Kings came to fight, then battled the kings of Canaan at Taanach near the waters of Megiddo. They took no silver as the spoils of war.

Are they not finding and dividing the spoil? --A maiden or two for every man; spoil of dyed stuffs for Sis'era, spoil of dyed stuffs embroidered, two pieces of dyed work embroidered for my neck as spoil?'

So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

The Midianites overwhelmed Israel. Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters for themselves in the hills, as well as caves and strongholds.

And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.

Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Jo'ash the Abiez'rite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Mid'ianites.

And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

Gideon said to him, "If you really are pleased with me, then give me a sign as proof that it is really you speaking with me.

God's messenger said to him, "Put the meat and unleavened bread on this rock, and pour out the broth." Gideon did as instructed.

And Gideon saw that he was the angel of Jehovah; and Gideon said, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! forasmuch as I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face.

That night the Lord said to him, "Take the bull from your father's herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. Pull down your father's Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.

and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order; then take the second bull, and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Ashe'rah which you shall cut down."

Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

And they said to one another, "Who has done this thing?" And after they had made search and inquired, they said, "Gideon the son of Jo'ash has done this thing."

Then the men of the town said to Jo'ash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Ba'al and cut down the Ashe'rah beside it."

But Jo'ash said to all who were arrayed against him, "Will you contend for Ba'al? Or will you defend his cause? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been pulled down."

He sent messengers throughout Manasseh and summoned them to follow him as well. He also sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet him.

And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,

Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.

The Lord did as he asked. When he got up the next morning, he squeezed the fleece, and enough dew dripped from it to fill a bowl.

Then Gideon told God, "Don't let yourself be angry with me! I want to ask you once again: please let me make a test with the fleece just once more. Cause it to be dry only on the fleece, but let there be dew all around on the ground."

That night God did as Gideon requested: only the fleece was dry, and dew was all over the ground.

Then Jerubbaal, also known as Gideon, got up early along with all of his soldiers. They encamped near the Harod Spring. The Midian encampment lay in the valley to their north, near the hill of Moreh.

That's why you're to ask in full view of the soldiers, "Whoever is afraid or is trembling may go back from Mount Gilead and return home." So 22,000 soldiers left and 10,000 remained.

So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.

And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

And Gideon came in, and lo! a man relating to his neighbour a dream, - and he said - Lo! a dream, have I dreamt, and lo! a round cake of barley bread tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came as far as the tent - and smote it that it fell, and turned it upside down, and the tent lay along.

And his comrade answered, "This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Jo'ash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Mid'ian and all the host."

And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.

And each stood {in his place} all around the camp, and all the camp ran, and they cried out as they fled.

And they blew the three hundred trumpets, and Jehovah set every man's sword against his fellow, and against all the host; and the host fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.

And Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill-country of Ephraim, saying, Come down against Midian, and take before them the waters, as far as Beth-barah, even the Jordan. So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together, and took the waters as far as Beth-barah, even the Jordan.

And they took the two princes of Mid'ian, Oreb and Zeeb; they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the wine press of Zeeb, as they pursued Mid'ian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.

God hath delivered into your hands the lords of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. And what was I able to do like as you have done?" And then their spirits abated from off him, when he had said that.

Then Gideon said, Because of this, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hands, I will have you stretched on a bed of thorns of the waste land and on sharp stems, and have you crushed as grain is crushed on a grain-floor.

And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.

Then Gideon the son of Jo'ash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres.

And he will take a youth from the men of Succoth, and he will ask him: and he will write for him the chiefs of Succoth and its old men, seventy and seven men.

So he took the elders of the city, and he took some thorns and briers from the wilderness, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them.

Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king.

And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks.